As number of social apps grows, so does need to battle cyberbullying

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Each year we find more phone applications, or 'apps,' to connect us with other people.

While there are many positives to social media, it has also spurred a new type of bullying.

Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Musically -- the list of apps goes on and on, and as the list grows so does cyberbullying.

"Bullying in general might be on the decline and it's been on the decline since the 1990s," says University of Oregon Associate Professor C.J. Pascoe. "We have seen an uptick of young people and online aggression since the early 2000s."

As a parent, navigating this new landscape can be hard, especially when your child is a target.

"My daughter cannot sleep, cannot hardly eat," says Amber Judson, who says her daughter is a victim of bullying. "She's afraid to come out of the house because she feels like she's being stalked."

That's the situation Judson found her daughter in.

A student at Briggs Middle School in Springfield, she found her Snapchat pictures downloaded to a fake Instagram account.

"They called her all kinds of bad names every day when she went to school. It just started escalating."

Judson says the school was unable find out who had created the fake accounts.

She ended up pulling her daughter out of school.

"When someone bullied us it was something that happened at school," Pascoe says. "The audience were just a few people around and now, if someone cyberbullies you, it could be thousands if it happens on Twitter to someone who has a lot of followers."

So how do you monitor what's happening with your kids on social media?

"We're sitting here and using the word 'bullying,' Pascoe explains. "Kids don't use that word; kids use drama. They're mean, right? But they don't use 'bully.' So I would say one of the things parents can do is to be attuned to the language that they use and to use that language."

Pascoe says bullying peaks in middle school, so it's important to know which apps they're using and to help kids understand what they should and should not post online.

Pascoe says research shows the majority of young people who are bullied online never report it to an adult.

She says it's important to keep an open dialogue with your kid.

We reached out to Briggs Middle School and the Springfield School District and have not heard back.